Alkonost Songs and Shitty Poetry
by Chrmdpoet
Summary: It was a simple poem, childish even, but the weight of it pricked at Bo's heart now in ways she couldn't have comprehended while under the parasite's influence.


**A/N: Short piece written for one of my Tumblr prompts asking that Bo remember what Tamsin revealed to her in the episode "ConFaegion". Enjoy! XO-Chrmdpoet**

Alkonost Songs and Shitty Poetry

Bo was shocked at the flood of memories that came with the lilt of Ianka's hauntingly beautiful song.

She expected the lost to return to her, but the memories that rushed to the forefront of her mind weren't the ones that filled the gaping hole of her time with the Wanderer. They were little moments, quiet moments, gentle moments, moments Bo had filed away and forgotten.

And the one that most surprised her was of a time not too long in the past. She saw herself, giggly and girlish, infected by the Morrigan's parasite, sitting atop her bed and staring into the soft eyes of the blonde across from her.

Tamsin.

Tamsin was so soft in Bo's memory, so open, so tender. She smiled shyly as she handed Bo her deepest secret in poem form and waited for a reaction.

Bo watched herself unfold the paper, Tamsin's near-illegible scrawl scribbled across it.

It was a simple poem, childish even, but the weight of it pricked at Bo's heart now in ways she couldn't have comprehended while under the parasite's influence.

_I am fierce and I am strong._

_My life has been really long._

_I've been born and died and born again,_

_and I've never really let anyone in._

_My heart feels lonely like an empty sea_

_because in all my lives, no one has ever loved me._

Bo snapped awake from her memories as Ianka's song came to an end. Her heart was a throbbing ache in her chest as the words of Tamsin's poem, words she had forgotten, played on repeat in her mind.

She could still see Tamsin's haunted eyes in her mind, hear her gentle voice. _I don't think I was supposed to like you. _

Bo sighed and rubbed at her chest.

"It was a good memory?" Ianka asked, and Bo smiled sadly at her.

"It was something," the Succubus whispered, her voice strained. "It was definitely something."

* * *

Bo's breath felt like fire in her lungs every time she saw Tamsin following the return of that one small memory. It was a while before she approached her, waiting until the timing felt right, until Tamsin was herself again-fully grown and just as stunning as ever.

The tiniest of smiles touched Tamsin's lips as she saw Bo enter the Dal. She nodded her hello and went back to her drink, and that same haunt that always lived in her eyes drew Bo in. It touched her in ways she had never allowed it to touch her before.

For so long, Bo had raged against whatever feelings had stirred in her for the Valkyrie. She hadn't wanted to let them in, hadn't wanted to even contemplate them, because her head and heart were already a mess. Dyson. Lauren. How far could a heart stretch?

But those feelings forced their way in. They bubbled up from so deep inside that Bo was helpless to stop them. She sucked in a sharp breath and made her way over to Tamsin.

Tamsin's brows furrowed as Bo latched onto her arm and jerked her from the bar. "Um, hi?" Tamsin said as Bo dragged her out of the Dal and into the alley.

Before Tamsin could ask what the hell was going on, Bo had her pressed against the brick wall of the building. She kissed Tamsin fiercely, deeply, siphoning the air right out of the Valkyrie's lungs.

When they parted, Tamsin looked at her, breathless. "Bo," she whispered. "What was that?"

"You were wrong," Bo told her quietly, leaning in to press another tender kiss to Tamsin's lips.

"You're going to have to elaborate," Tamsin drawled, ever the smartass despite the way her stomach churned and her heart fluttered madly in her chest.

Bo smiled softly, almost childishly. "That night we don't remember," she began, and Tamsin nodded.

"The parasite thing."

"Yeah," Bo said. "That night, you and I wrote each other poems about our deepest secrets."

Tamsin's face scrunched. "Um no, sorry," she laughed and pointed at herself. "This girl doesn't do poetry."

Bo chuckled and shook her head. "You did that night. We both did."

"How do you even know that?" Tamsin asked. "We lost the memories of that night."

"Ianka's song," Bo explained, and realization dawned on Tamsin's features.

"Shit," the Valkyrie muttered. "Poetry? Seriously?"

Bo laughed but then lowered her voice to a whisper and recited Tamsin's poem.

Tamsin's eyes widened, flooding with sorrow and a hint of embarrassment as Bo finished the last lines.

_My heart feels lonely like an empty sea_

_because in all my lives, no one has ever loved me._

Bo kissed Tamsin again as the last word left her mouth. "You were wrong," she whispered once more. "You _are_ loved."

Tamsin let the meaning of those words sink in. She smiled as tears pricked at her eyes and she kissed Bo deeply. She rolled her eyes a moment later and pinched Bo's side. "You weren't supposed to remember my shitty poem, Succubus," she laughed out wetly.

Bo laughed with her. "Why not?" she asked, letting her hands come up to cup around Tamsin's cheeks. "It's what got us here."

Tamsin felt the next kiss all the way down to her soul.


End file.
